Press Kit

Press release for: Fukushima and the coming Tokyo Earthquake: and what it will mean for fragile world economy

Fukushima and the coming Tokyo earthquake: and what it will mean for a fragile world economy is the first of two books to be written by Tony Smyth. [eBook, Amazon, published 2017, $9.99]. fukushimatokyoquake.com

Book content in brief: This book details the story of two earthquakes, one that has already happened and one that is imminent, and their consequences, not only for Japan but also for the rest of the world. It is structured in a way that ‘chunks up’ in sections, from Japanese cultural elements, to the sequence of events after the earthquake and reactor meltdowns, through to global consequences of the two quakes.

The radioactive leaks from the Fukushima reactors have led to an abandonment of nuclear power by many countries. This will have consequences in a world where exponential use of fossil fuels is causing global warming. In addition, this book shows that the world’s advanced economies are heavily dependent on Japanese technology and components, supplies of which will be seriously restrained when a large earthquake strikes near Tokyo. The cost of rebuilding one of the world’s biggest metropolises after a large earthquake has been estimated at up to $1.45 trillion, around a third of Japan’s GDP. At least part of this amount will likely come from selling a portion of Japan’s $1 trillion in US treasury bonds. This is turn will have knock-on effects on the world’s fragile economies.

About the author (short version): Tony Smyth has lived in Tokyo for most of his adult life, arriving in Japan in 1980. He has taught English at many famous companies in the capital and is currently teaching bureaucrats at Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is also a practitioner of NLP and hypnotherapy for Tokyo’s foreign community. He has travelled extensively in Asia. His wife Tomoko is a native of Fukushima Prefecture.

Details within the book include: cultural details that explain some of the seeming bizarre and incomprehensible actions by Japanese officials after the 2011 quake struck, the reason why Japanese citizens handed in the equivalent of over U.S. $83 million in cash, as well as gold bars and antiques in the aftermath of the quake, involvement of Yakuza gang members at Fukushima clean up operations, recent scientific studies in the effects of low level radiation on human health, details of growing dangers for our planet due to continuous use of fossil fuels, the concentration of political and economic power in central Tokyo, the dependence of world hi-tech and electronic industries on Japanese components and materials, Japan’s need to sell its treasury bonds to pay for massive rebuilding in quake-hit Tokyo, and finally, the likely effects of this on the world’s debt-laden economy.

An example from the book of the chokehold that Japanese companies have on components used in hi-tech industries:

Japan is a country with hundreds of ‘chokeholds’ in hi-tech components which are vital to the world economy. In the sequential, multi-country production so common these days, any disruption in the supply chain will have severe consequences for companies further down the chain, and of course for end users.

• 75% of all motors in computer hard drives worldwide are made in Japan (Nidec), as are:

• 90% of the micro-motors used to adjust rear view mirrors in cars (Mabuchi)

• 80% of the etchers used to make LCD panels (TEL)

• Japanese market share in capacitors used in electronic devices is 80%

• Among companies that place patterns on semiconductors, all are Japanese.

• In four of the steps in manufacturing computer chips, Japanese companies are indispensible

• Similarly, the Japanese company Renasas is the world’s largest manufacturer of microcontrollers. Should production at its factory, which lies halfway between Tokyo and Fukushima, be disrupted, American car production would grind to a halt, with losses of $1 billion for each day of disruption. Renasas is also one of the world’s largest makers of semiconductors used in mobile phones. Headquarters in Tokyo.

More details of each chapter, as well as all diagrams and maps, can be found at the official website: fukushimatokyoquake.com. Much of the information in this book comes from Japanese sources that were rarely accessed by Western media in the period following the 2011 earthquake.

About the author: Tony Smyth was born in the northwest of England and grew up in Ireland. After partial completion of a Commerce Degree in Dublin, he moved to the UK where he earned a Fine Arts degree at Northumbria University in 1976. After two years doing graphic design at the local transport company, he traveled and worked in the United States, before arriving in Japan in March 1980. Apart from a few years in Europe, he has lived in Tokyo since that time.

He initially studied Japanese language in Tokyo, before switching to shiatsu and acupuncture. He then studied acupuncture in Beijing, receiving advanced level certification in 1985. He got married to Tomoko Sakamoto the following year, and in 1988 they founded a language school in Ebisu, Tokyo, which lasted 10 years, until Japans long recession became severe.

In 1998 and 1999 studied Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) in Winter Park, Colorado. He has since done other NLP study in New York and the UK, as well as a hypnotherapy course in Stratford on Avon, England. He has a NLP/hypnotherapy practice in Tokyo (hypnonlp-tokyo.weebly.com).

Over the years, Tony has taught English at many companies in the Tokyo area, including Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Honda Motor Company, Goldman Sachs, as well as government ministries. He currently teaches English to bureaucrats at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He lives with his wife Tomoko in an apartment with splendid views of the south and west of Tokyo and Mount Fuji, plays the board game Go (badly), reads incessantly (mostly non-fiction), and, like many from Dublin, is a lifelong fan of Manchester United.

A second book which broadens and follows on from the themes in the final chapters of Fukushima and the coming Tokyo Earthquake is already being researched, and is intended to be a ‘companion’ book to the Fukushima/quake book.